Poker Face
by Atheleia
Summary: 10 years later, Saguru Hakuba and Kaitou KID meet again...alone. It's the first time they've met since Kaito's identity was exposed. What do they have to say to each other? Angst...mixed with a hint of friendship. Oneshot.


Author's Note: I've been in a depressing mood for a couple of days...which is, of course why I must take it out on my favorite characters! This one-shot is angst, angst, and more angst. Of course, as my dear readers know, I have never been much of a one-shot writer, but today, I think I'm going to get out of my comfort zone. So, if you would, please enjoy this short piece and review!

_Note: Hakuba's eye-color is usually brown in the anime and blue in the manga. I'm going by brown for now in order to make it easier to tell the difference between Hakuba's eyes and Kaito's eyes._

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><p>The room was dark and silent. A large, bright red gem, known as the Crimson Flare, stood on a lonely display, a dim spotlight shining on it, giving it a sparkle. The rest of the room was thrown into complete darkness. Nothing moved, nothing sounded. But if one walked in, he or she would feel the tenseness in the air. It appeared to be empty. As all our readers know, it was not.<p>

A small bronze clock ticked in the back of the room. It looked rather old fashioned, its little hands spinning quietly. The second hand made round after round around the numbers, whilst the hour and minute hands moved ever so slightly every now and then.

Suddenly, the clock struck 11. For a brief moment, the display holding the gem was covered in thick pink smoke. A white gloved hand appeared from the cloud and grasped the gem. Slowly, the pink smoke faded.

A figure clad in white with a large top hat stood in the middle of the room. A white cape billowed behind him, then settled down softly. Gently, the jewel was tossed from one gloved hand to another. The man took another step towards the light and his face was just visible. His icy blue eyes peeked out from messy hair, the look in them obviously tired. There was no smile on the face, just a look of sadness and worry that seemed permanently etched in.

"It's been 10 years, Kuroba."

A British man dressed in a light gray tuxedo stepped out from behind a door. His light blond hair was gently ruffled and his eyes much warmer than the ones who stared back. The thief's expression changed, a very faint smile coming to light, though his eyes remained deep and saddened.

"Hakuba, it's been a while," the thief, or rather, Kuroba Kaito, said quietly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" He stepped towards the man, a haunted smile on his lips. "I see that none of your fellow policemen are here, and why is that? I do believe that I made it quite clear that I was going to pay a visit tonight."

"Kuroba, you know why I'm here," Hakuba said. His brown eyes flickered with remorse and guilt. "I came to apologize."

To his surprise, the Phantom Thief's expression did not change. A teasing smile came on, a faint shadow of the smile Hakuba used to see–and hate. "Why, Hakuba, why would you need to apologize? There was nothing worth apologizing for."

For one moment, Hakuba desperately wanted to see the all-knowing, carefree smile Kuroba used to carry with him, the one that used to irk him so much, mainly because Hakuba knew he would never achieve it.

As Hakuba drowned in his thoughts, the Phantom Thief stood off to a side. He opened a window and a thin wisp of moonlight came in. Carefully, Kuroba held the gem underneath the light. The jewel glimmered for a moment, then the sparkles on it dimmed. A crestfallen look appeared on Kuroba's face when suddenly, a brilliant radiance filled the room.

Hakuba gave a yell as the light temporarily blinded him. Several seconds later (or 3.257 seconds, to be precise), the light faded. The gem glowed as if someone was shining a light through it, a steady and soft glow.

A triumphant smirk replaced Kuroba's crestfallen face. With an almost savage look, Kuroba threw it to the ground with such force that it broke off the first layer of the gem. A smaller gem, about the size of Hakuba's fist resided in it. Hakuba couldn't quite make out the color––it seemed to change, one moment it appeared to be blue, the next green, an occasional red tossed in here and there. It seemed pristine and had apparently never been scratched.

"Pandora." Hakuba could just make out Kuroba's whisper. For a moment, the light returned to the once-happy man's eyes. Hakuba had a feeling that this jewel had been what Kuroba had been after all along, and somehow it meant a whole lot more to him than any precious jewel he had come upon in his 'career'.

The glowing jewel was tucked into a concealed pocket, the red light it emitted fading as it was taken out from underneath the moonlight. Kuroba made to leave.

"Hold it Kuroba. I haven't said sorry yet," Hakuba stood in front of the Phantom Thief, staring directly into his eyes.

"Well, now you have," Kuroba said coldly. His eyes pierced Hakuba's gut as they both thought back to that fateful day.

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><p>"<em>Kaito! You baka!" Nakamori Aoko chased the prankster around as he teasingly leapt from place to place. He had snuck a look at you-know-where again, earning him a date with a mop.<em>

_A poof of pink smoke and Kuroba Kaito was replaced by a rather triumphant looking Hakuba, or at least, he looked triumphant before he got a mouthful of mop._

"_Oh! Hakuba-kun!" Aoko's mop clattered to the ground, her hands at her mouth. "Gomen, Hakuba-kun!"_

_Hakuba brushed it off with an easy smile. "No worries, Aoko-san," he said, a smile dancing on his lips. "I've got absolutely wonderful news."_

_Aoko clapped her hands together, completely ignoring Kaito, who was leaning against the windowsill, looking bored. "Is it about Kaitou KID? Did you or otousan catch him?"_

"_Yes, Aoko-san, it's about KID. Or rather, Kuroba." Hakuba's icy eyes moved from Aoko to Kuroba, who just looked back nonchalantly._

"_Would you stop it with that incompetent theory that I'm KID?" he asked in a stultifying voice. "How many times do I have to prove that I'm innocent?"_

_Aoko's excited smile also drooped. "Hakuba," she said, wearily running her hand through her long hair, "we've been through this countless times. Whatever new evidence you have has always been proven false by Kaito. What is it now?"_

"_I have evidence. Undeniable evidence," Hakuba smirked. "You see, last night I drew a certain mark on Kaitou KID's gloves. The ink that I used penetrated his gloves and sank into his skin. Nobody in the world has ever used this type of ink. It is a sort of temporary glow-in-the-dark tattoo, one that lasts approximately 2 days. It cannot be washed before then." Hakuba strode over and grabbed Kaito's hand. "If my deductions are correct, applying a bit of this liquid and then turning off the lights should result in..." Hakuba switched the lights off, "a very faint glow in the shape of the symbol of infinity."_

_There, on Kaito's right hand, rested the undeniable mark of infinity._

_A victorious Hakuba took out a pair of handcuffs. "Ready to go to jail, Kaitou KID?"_

_A horrified look crossed over Aoko's face. In the background, Koizumi Akako cursed and mentioned something about Lucifer's predictions._

"_Kaito...you...surely not?" Aoko's face betrayed her hope, her desperate last hope that everything was wrong._

_For a moment, nobody in the classroom moved. Even the teacher stood stock-still, waiting for Kaito's answer._

_The tense muscles in Kaito's face relaxed, and for a fleeting moment, hope dawned on Aoko's face. Then a sad but knowing smile appeared, and Hakuba knew he had won._

"_Incriminating evidence, eh?" Kaito said, the odd smile still plastered to his face. Aoko's smile melted off her face. "Never expected it to happen now...nor in front of this type of audience."_

"_Kaito...no...please...tell me this isn't happening!" Aoko's eyes, against her will, filled with tears._

_A gentle smile shifted over Kaito. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "I would, but that would be a lie. And I'm afraid I won't be able to lie to you any longer," he whispered in her ear._

"_Kuroba Kaito, you have nowhere to run!" Hakuba said, preparing to slam handcuffs onto his classmate. "There are police outside! There's a helicopter heading over!"_

"_Then I take my leave. But only after one thing," Kaito turned to face the dark-haired girl who was staring at her desk, as if disbelieving that this was actually happening._

"_Sorry, Aoko."_

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><p>"She died the next year, you know," Hakuba said, breaking the silence. "Car accident. She was...was walking home on that same date, probably thinking of you..." his voice faltered.<p>

"I know," Kuroba said harshly. "I was at her funeral. Disguised, of course. It's hard to think...hard to think that so many people have died for this petty jewel." His hand reached for his pocket instinctively.

"Why, Kuroba, why? Why did you suffer through it all? Why didn't you tell somebody? What was all this suffering, all this pain, all this death, why did Aoko die for this?" Hakuba could feel the heat rising in his voice. He was practically yelling now.

"Nobody else will die for this. I will crush this jewel and scatter its remains across the oceans," Kuroba murmured to himself.

The two stood in silence, each contemplating their own thoughts. Hakuba stared at the ground, clenching his fists. That damn Kuroba, had to go and...and do whatever he was doing for some petty jewel and some incompetent reason.

Suddenly, Hakuba saw white shoes standing next to his. Brown eyes met blue. A bittersweet smile lingered on Kuroba's face. "Tell Nakamori that I will not be able to return this jewel. And that I'm sorry. I'm everlastingly sorry for what I had to do."

Hakuba was lost for words. Kuroba cared, he cared so much for Nakamori Aoko. He felt a throbbing pain in his chest for what he had done that day, revealed Kuroba's identity, killed his dreams, ruined his life. Was he any worse than a murderer? Kuroba must've had some reason for committing these crimes, some unknown and probably noble reason. And he, Hakuba, the gentleman detective, had ruined it. Ruined everything. Kuroba was hurting. He could no longer go back to the life he used to know, could no longer go back to Aoko, to his mother, to his family...all because of those words that he had announced in front of his classmates. All for a brief moment of glory.

What had he done?

"Remember, Hakuba, smiles and laughter are always good, but never forget your Poker Face," Kuroba whispered as he passed by the door and into a hallway that was brilliantly lit by the moon.

As Kaitou KID, or rather, Kuroba Kaito disappeared into the night under the light of the moon, Hakuba thought he saw a tear in his eye.

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><p>Author's Note: Yes! I finally discovered how to make line breaks (half way through, I started experimenting, and it WORKED). I am happy (despite my angsty fic). Please review!<p> 


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